Another strong album.
Ben Randall | Denver,USA | 03/28/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Different from the rest of SOD's albums in that it contains a fiddle. This was supposed to be a big comeback album, but the deal with the record company fell through. The tracks here are great. Into the Rising Sun, In the City, and of course Paradise; these are among the band's best. The guitar work on Law is a bit Guns and Roses like compared to the band's other work. The sax is barely noticeable, but good songwriting makes up for it. The one point where the album falters a bit is that songs like Chemical Head, Burnout, Killing Ground, and Krystalize are kind of lacking in the refrain department, normally a strong suite for Kirk. The songs are still impressive for the most part, with great melodies like on When the Bull Comes Down, and good lyrics like on Killing Ground."
Is this man a prophet?
tommy_tads | London, UK | 03/20/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is Kirk Brandon back to his cheeky best. I bought this album by mistake, when trying to purchase a book about voyeurism of medieval poets (hence only the four stars). Even so, I have been quite chuffed with this happy little accident.On track 8, Spear of Destiny have a song that has never sounded so relevant as it does now (Babylon talking). As many will know, Babylon is the old name for Baghdad, and that has certainly been talking recently. Similarly, track number 11 is Captain America. And we all know who's boss now. Track 12 is "chemical head" (warhead, more like) and 14 is Burn Out, evoking pictures of oil fields burning. Really, this is the Nostradamus of all albums, spookily predicting the current Gulf War at the same time as using a clever acronym in its title. What more can you ask for? (A good voice and nice tunes would have been nice, but perhaps it's churlish of me to point out the chinks in a prophet's armour.)"
